Monday, June 19, 2006

Living only an hour away, I have no excuse not to check out Garrison Confections in Rhode Island. I read about this chocolatier recently and could not wait to add it to my repertoire of divine dessert places in Providence. In fact,according to Money Magazine it is one of the top 10 chocolatiers in the country. I'm sold!

The inside:

I was thrilled to find that the prices were really reasonable. Garrison used to be based in NYC but is now able to sell at better prices given the lower cost of living in Providence. We got a box of 16 pieces for $18. I remember seeing similar chocolates at Richart in Copley square going for way more money! We picked out several different flavors between the 4 of us.

My personal favorites were the Apricot Yogurt, Triple Play, and Green Apple. The bergamot (tea flavored) was a hit with the friends. For the more adventurous, there are other interesting flavors such as habenero. We got to sample these and they were surprisingly good!

Chomp Meter:I'll definitely be back. No no not just for me, chocolates make good gifts too =). For those unwilling to make the trip to Providence, Garrison Chocolates are also available from Temper Chocolates in Hotel Commonwealth (Kenmore Square, Boston).

I found the article in the Rhode Island Monthly's Bride 2007 about the different wedding cakes. After hearing what rave reviews my husband I picked flavors/design for our wedding cake. We finally came to the decision of a 4 layer cake with alternating layers of raspberry grand marnier and chocolate chocolate. I sent very specific pictures of what I wanted. I absolutely did NOT want any white/cream colored frosting or Fondant, Just chocolate buttercream frosting with orange/pink/and green flowers. I also wanted the cake to be square. When my husband and I walked into our reception I almost lost it. Our cake was 3 layers, had red/orange ribbon around each layer w/ a cream color fondant frosting. I had to have my florist go and get flowers to decorate it because it matched nothing. To top it off when we cut the cake it ended up being the chocolate hazelnut cake instead...I am very allergic to hazelnuts and practically went into anaphylactic shock and had to use an epipen in front of all of my guests. To top it off they were complete asses about the whole situation. DON'T EVER GET A CAKE FROM THEM, planning a wedding is hard enough, you don't need that stress on top of it.